


Back to a Past Life

by neighborhoodwitch



Series: Lives of the Rich and Famous [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Businessman Arthur, Confusion, Famous Characters, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Good Morgana (Merlin), M/M, Musician Merlin (Merlin), Past Relationship(s), musician freya, past leaving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-29 06:32:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17802821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neighborhoodwitch/pseuds/neighborhoodwitch
Summary: Seven years ago Merlin disappeared. Nobody was able to find him till one day Morgana runs into him in the supermarket of all places, she convinces him to meet with their old friends to reconnect, but that means seeing Arthur again. Emotional confusion, repressed feelings, and identity reveals ensue. Of course, it all went down at Pendragon Manor.-instead of this being a series i will continue adding chapters as i write the stories so it will be one story a chapter to take pressure off of finishing for me





	Back to a Past Life

**Author's Note:**

> I plan for this to become a series of works scattered through this universe but that depends on how this work does. I dont have a beta so any mistakes I have made are all on me, I tried to read this through multiple times but I might have missed some stuff. Very basic information just incase its not clear enough in the plot is.
> 
> *Merlin was gone for seven years in America before moving back to London
> 
> *Arthur, Percival, Leon, and Mordred all went to one uni and everyone else went to a different one but they were in the same town and siblings so they know each other
> 
> *if we are being honest everyone is famous in one way or another because it do be like that sometimes
> 
> *there is a plot hole with Merlins guitar im pretty sure just roll with it
> 
> *I am clearly not british

When Merlin's plane touched down in Heathrow, he gulped down the smell of rain mixed with the city and he was hit with an overwhelming wave of nostalgia for this city. It was his home. He was finally home after seven years of absence, and he was home like any other 27 years old. That was if he pointedly ignored pretty much everything he had been doing for the past seven years, along with the car that pulled up for him and the luggage he was carrying which was just nice enough to catch eyes. He kept his head down and loaded his stuff into the trunk pulling his old jacket tight around him against the chill. There was a screen between him and the driver, good. That meant no seeing or small talk. He actually wouldn't have minded some small talk, it had been a while since he had just gone out and talked to another person. Probably because he had locked himself away in the studio for weeks just so he could come back here.  
His thoughts drifted off as he watched the scenery pass him by out the window as his driver weaved through the London traffic taking him to a part of town he had only ever driven through. Then, the car pulled to a stop in front of a building Merlin had visited once or twice. His daydreams were broken when the cheery voice of a women came through the car.  
“This is your place, Mr. Emrys.” He wanted to laugh at how excited she sounded, not like she was allowed to look at him. It was all in her contract and he had heard she was well trusted anyways.  
He had no way to thank her so he climbed out and pulled his bags, he only had three. A duffle, a backpack, and an actual suitcase. The rest would be getting sent over in the coming days so he could finish moving in. He kept his head down as he took his stuff to the elevator despite it being unnecessary, nobody would be looking for him anyway. He took it to the top floor, it was strange being in a building where he just got a whole floor, but so did the two tenets below him. He was just glad this way they couldn't come knocking on his door, he had had it happen before. It was how he made some of his best friends and worst enemies.  
He scanned the fob he had been given when he bought the place and the elegant doors opened to a massive living room which flowed in a kitchen almost as big. There were big fluffy grey couches with brightly colored pillows and blankets decorating them as well as a large fireplace that looked like it could be wood burning but he knew it was electric as much as he wished it wasn't. The coffee table was a costume made piece he had been gifted, dark wood in a sea of blue glass so dark it was almost black touched with gold veins. It reminded him of magic, he wasn't sure why. All of this was over a soft black rug that covered the original hardwood floors, it looked softer than the bed he grew up sleeping on.  
All he really wanted to do was collapse onto the couch and sleep till he was dead, but he needed to put his stuff away and it had been hours since he had eaten. He hated airplane food. That's what you get for flying commercial, he thought then rolled his eyes at how pretentious that sounded.  
He wandered through the rooms, finding a guest room, two bathrooms, an office/recording studio thing his manager had set up, and a pantry bigger than his childhood bedroom. He finally found the master and spent a solid five minutes staring at the size. In the back of his mind, a little voice told him the apartment wasn't really this big it was just the layout, color scheme, and windows that made it appear this way. The rest of his brain, however, wanted to know what magic they had used to make this place bigger than the space it occupied. It was straight out of Harry Potter.  
He gave a long sigh and ended up just leaving his bags around the room and pulling out the pajamas in his backpack. It was only half nine and he was accustomed to staying up much later or foregoing sleep entirely, but he was jet-lagged and hungry and wanted something greasy. Pulling out his phone he quickly googled the closest fast food place and ordered, then he called the lobby and asked them to inform him when it was there. Nobody knew who he was here so he could walk around in his weird history shirts and plaid pajama pants and nobody would know the difference. 

\---

It was almost a week later when he finally decided he need to get some groceries so he wouldn't be eating out or ordering in for every meal, he had made quite good friends with his coffee maker and tea bags though.  
He had spent the whole day watching weird documentaries on the history channel and correcting them when they were wrong. Now his coffee table was littered with notebooks and brightly colored pens filled with half-formed lyrics, good take away places, and researchers he needed to call to correct their mistakes. Gods he was a mess.  
Pulling on jeans, boots, and the first warm sweatshirt he found he set off to the elevator, only to turn around again because he forgot his glasses and/or contacts, then he set off for real this time. It was shockingly warm in London and that was coming from him, the man who had spent the last seven years living in what he had once thought the surface of the sun. California. On his walk to the store he learned there was a hole in the collar of this particular sweatshirt and it was huge, he wasn't the one who bought it but it had somehow traveled with him for years.  
Getting his cart and filling it was various types of chips and candies was all well and good until the little voice in the back of his head told him to go buy food he could use cook and wouldn't clog his arteries, it sounded suspiciously like his mum.  
While decided which type of pasta he wanted somebody spoke to him, it was terrifying. “Oh, you went to Avalon too?” Someone off to his right asked, he jumped a mile high and uttered a quick response.  
“Yeah, I was there for a couple years, yeah.” He grabbed the first box in reach, tortellini, and went to put it in his cart.  
The person he came face to face with made him wish he could melt straight to the floor to hell and never return. “Merlin?” Morgana fucking Pendragon. Off all the people he could have run into in London it was her. London was huge. Why did she have to be at his grocery store?  
When he didn't respond she asked again. “Merlin? Merlin Ambrosius?” He gave her a nervous smile and her confusion turned into a shock.  
“Hi, Morgana.” He said slowly, praying to his gods that they kill him right then and there.  
“Merlin Ambrosius. In London are we?” Her tone was too nice, he knew that tone, that tone meant he had fucked up. And in this situation, yeah he had fucked up real bad and continued to fuck up for the past seven years.  
“Yeah, I-um I just- I just moved back.” He tried for another smile but she was glaring at him so furiously he felt small despite having probably two inches on her. Now, she was wearing heels and they were eye level and he was still waiting for that lightning strike of death.  
“Oh hell, you have some explaining to do.” The glare faded and she stepped forward and pulled him into a hug. It was the first hug he had honestly gotten in a while and he melted into it. Then it was over, Morgana stepped back and looked at him and pulled out her phone. “Put your number in. Since the one I have clearly doesn't work.” He felt itchy all over, it was guilt. He quickly punched in his number and she stared him in the eyes as she called. His phone buzzed from his pocket, he let her watch as it opened to his face and he saved it under ‘Morgana Pendragon’.  
“Need to put my last name in? Actually, that's fair, you might forget who I am again.” She sneered.  
“Look, Morgana, I can explain-” She cut him off with a scolding tone.  
“Oh you will, just not right now, I will be calling you later and I expect you to pick up.” He only nodded and realized just how much confidence those stupid masks gave him. Or maybe Morgana just terrified him more after seven years away from the glares. It was probably the latter, he decided it was the latter. 

\---

He was halfway through making his dinner when his phone rang. He paused the music blaring through his speaker, he might be a well versed in music but he did not understand his surround sound.  
He jammed the phone between his shoulder and ear and went back to cooking pasta for one. “Hello, Morgana.” He rushed out.  
“Hello, Merlin.” Her voice was smooth and calm unlike him because he cursed colorfully into the phone when he dropped his spoon before answering her.  
“What's up?” He winced at how casual it was.  
“Well I was going to interrogate you but after that colorful array of curse words I’m more interested in what you're doing right now?” He hated how good it felt to hear her voice again, even with the judgment and restrained anger.  
“Attempting to make myself dinner and I’ve ended up with enough for an army cause you always have to overestimate pasta and I overestimated by a lot more than I should have. I don't even have the energy to make a sauce for this much pasta.” He was rambling about pasta, he realized that. After seven years of radio silence on his end, he was rambling about pasta. He mentally smacked himself.  
“Lovely, I’m starving. Send me your address and I will come over?” She said it as a statement but there was hesitation in her voice like maybe she doubted he would want to see her. He did really want to see her so he quickly agreed.  
“Yeah, yeah ok I will text it to you but you have to promise me something first.” She made a small noise of agreement. “Promise me you won’t tell a soul that I am in London or where I live.”  
“Merlin it had been si-” He cut her off, his tone pleading.  
“I’m serious Morgana, you do not tell anyone anything.” A noise of disagreement. “You tell anyone and I’m gone again.” It was an empty threat really, he would not actually pack up and leave London if she told anybody. Would he?  
“Fine, Merlin, I won't tell anybody anything but that's another thing you will have to explain.”  
The fire flared up under his pot, he left the lid on while the pasta was cooking and he almost dropped his phone. “Yeah ok, sure I'll text you in a minute.” Then she was gone. Morgana had ended the call and now she would be on her way over here and he was going to serve her pasta. Fun. He could totally do this.  
He sent his address to her and turned his music to full volume and continued with his cooking and just as a familiar voice came through his phone the elevator doors opened to Morgana and one the men who worked the reception. “Nice place, oh I like this song leave it on.” He cringed but stopped himself from skipping the song and she walked into the kitchen to lean against his island.  
“You ready to eat?” He asked as he turned around with fogged up glasses. She smiled at him slowly and he opened multiple cabinets before finding the ones with plates. Using his own kitchen was an adventure every time.  
“How long have you been living here exactly?” She asked as she watched him in the hunt for utensils.  
“Bout a week honestly, I’ve stayed here a couple times before but only for a night or two and I wasn't really hanging around the apartment.” He said it so casually he didn't realize the information he was giving away till it was already said.  
“What were you doing then?” She took the plate and looked around for a table, he only had a breakfast bar and a coffee table so another dinner on the couch it is.  
“...Stuff” He said slowly as he sat, she narrowed her eyes at him. “So I um… what do you wanna know?” He asked awkwardly if only to make her stop staring at him. Morgana's bright green eyes could always read him like a book.  
“I don't know, Merlin. Why don't we start seven years ago? Maybe when you just disappeared off the face of the earth?” He laughed awkwardly and took a bite of his pasta before taking a deep breath and coming clean.  
“I moved to California.” She gaped at him. “I moved to California and finished my Ph.D. in history over the next four years there.”  
“Why?” She had balanced her plate on her thighs to throw her hands up. “Why would you just pack up and go to California without telling anyone?” Her voice was growing steadily louder. “Why would you just cut contact with everyone and vanish? Why would you leave!”  
The guilt unfurled in his stomach and made his insides squirm. “I got an offer, a really good offer. And I just needed to get away from Avalon… and everything. So I took the offer and didn't say anything because you all would have convinced me to stay.”  
“And what was this offer that was so good you just packed up and left?” He looked at her with pained eyes, begging her to not ask that question. “Fine. You will tell me another time though?”  
“Yeah, yeah sure ok.” She nodded. “What have you been doing the past seven years then?” Her eyes flashed at the amount of time he had been gone but picked her plate up and started to eat before responding.  
“Want me to just catch you up everything then?” He nodded eagerly and they laughed, a little part of him wanted her to leave and leave him be but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.  
“Well, Will and I are lawyers at the same law firm.” He almost choked on his pasta.  
“Will’s a lawyer?” She nodded slowly.  
“You really didn't keep in touch with anyone did you?” He shook his head. “Huh. Well at first we thought you had been kidnapped but your mum said you were fine and we figured you just wanted to get away from us, Gwaine accused Will of talking to you and Will accused him of the same thing. You left us in quite a mess.”  
“Nope. Deleted everything, cut contact with everyone, new everything. Well, I still talked to my mum, of course, I only saw her like three times through the last seven years though.” He took in her face to see just how much time had passed. She hasn't changed much but now her face was sharper and she radiated cool confidence, more prominent than it had been back in uni.  
“Yeah well. It was an experience when you disappeared. Felt like there was a hole, it still does whenever we all get together.” The thought of everyone being together without him hurt just a little, they had probably become much closer since he had left.  
“How often is that?” She shrugged.  
“Not really that often honestly, everyone is always so busy that getting all our schedules to line up is almost impossible. Leon and Elyan always have a game or practice which they are never willing to skip, really throws a wrench in a lot of my plans.”  
“They wouldn't skip when we were barely in our twenties and discovering how much alcohol we could all drink. Why would they skip when they play professionally?”  
She huffed a small laugh. “Fair enough. See they are always off doing their sports or whatever, Freya is always off filming or recording or at some premiere.” Freya, yes, actress and singer who had once approached Emrys to do a song and he had panicked so bad he just never wrote back. “Arthur is always at board meetings and boring COO stuff, Gwen always has shows but she’s a lot easier since she is her own boss and the boss of a ton of other people. Will and I have cases a lot but we get a decent amount of wiggle room compared to some other people. Mordred and Lance actually do medical stuff sometimes, granted Mordred has a show, but its the actual real mind reading stuff. Trust me.” He laughed at the thought of Morgana being scared of anything, especially Mordred of all people. She had practically adopted him.  
“Doesn’t Percival have his own restaurant now?” She looked surprised but nodded.  
“Yeah, he's got another one opening in about a year. You kept tabs on us all?”  
“Well, I mean… you are all in the headlines all over the world and it was kinda hard not to.” She narrowed her eyes. “Yeah and maybe I follow some of your social media or follow the headlines. I left, I’m not a total monster, my curiosity wouldn't allow that.” He defended himself against her piercing stare.  
“But we weren't allowed to keep tabs on you?” He shrugged. “You deleted everything, Merlin. You obviously didn't want us keeping tabs.”  
“I have social media.” He answers quickly. “I just deleted the old on so- yeah so nobody would contact me.” She sighed and gave him a long look.  
“Ok, I’m asked questions now.” Like she hadn't been asking questions the entire time. “You got a Ph.D. in history, what do you do to be able to afford a place like this?” He gave her a long look saying this was another one of those questions he didn't want to be asked. “Fine. You did get your Ph.D. in history, right?”  
“Yes, that I did. Took four more bloody years but I have the fancy slip of paper and all.” She laughed and he stood to take their dishes into the kitchen. “It's getting late and it's a Tuesday, don't you have work tomorrow?”  
She rolled her eyes but came over to give him a hug then gathered her coat and bag. “Yes you’re right, I do expect us to hang out some more. I will keep your secret, for now, you better have a good reason that I will get out of you.” He just grinned at her as the elevator doors closed, then, he was alone again. 

\---

Almost two months in London and he had a whopping one friend, it was Morgana. Sure some of the other tenants had tried to speak to him, they were all older people who ran big business empires he had probably protested at some point in his life. They all asked the same question. How had such a young man afforded this part of town? One old lady even asked if he was royalty, then promptly started flirting with him. So he kept to himself from there on out. Spent his days locked away in his office doing one thing or another, most of it was watching the skyline through the floor to ceiling windows his desk faced.  
He was good like this, he was used to solitude despite the hours of phone calls he had to make every day. He had just finished one of those phone calls when the doors slid open and Morgana stepped into his apartment, he had given her a fob at this point because she had taken to bringing him food when she was tired. “Yes, yes lovely do it I don’t give a shit about the color.” He held up a finger to her. “You are listing different colors of blue and I have to go, goodbye. Yes, yes I am hanging up on you.” He ended the call cutting off the women on the other ends protest.  
“American girlfriend?” She raised an eyebrow.  
“Could not be farther from the truth. What do you need, darling?” She was lacking her standard dress and heels. The heels were still there but the dresses and pantsuits had been replaced but tight jeans and a plunging blue blouse.  
“We are going clubbing, by clubbing I mean there's a gay bar around here and I could use a couple drinks.” Her voice left no room for disagreement.  
“Sure. Do I need to change?” She shook her head so he went to grab the first pair of shoes. Pulling on the same jacket he had worn when he returned to London he started the hunt for his wallet.  
Morgana let out a low whistle. "Those are nice shoes." He looked down, they were nice shoes, so nice in fact they had only been released a week ago and had broken records for opening day sales. They had been a gift. He hoped Morgana didn't know her sneakers. “When did you learn how to dress? Or make your hair look more elegantly tousled than birds nest?” He stuck his tongue out at her and pushed the button to get the elevator.  
“So, you gonna tell me what you do yet?” They were standing in silence with only the cheesy elevator music playing in the background. Before he could answer, not that he would have told her, the doors slid open to let in a woman who had to be in her late sixties and was probably some heiress knowing this neighborhood.  
He stepped closer to Morgana so she had her own space and it became even more awkward. The woman was looking between them with a small smile on her face, oh god here it comes. “Are you Merlin's girlfriend then?”  
Morgana laughed quickly and kept her voice sweet, ever the polite one out of the pair. “Oh, no I’m just a friend of his.”  
“Hm, well.” She gave him a look he would rather not think too hard about, thankfully the doors slid open to the lobby and he could grab Morgana's elbow and get himself out of there.  
“Ok, how do we get to this place?” He asked once they had gotten outside the doors and Morgana started on the way without responding.  
“So.” She smirked. “Little old lady took quite an interest in you.” He glared at her. “She's probably wealthy, think of it as a sugar mama.” He punched her shoulder light and she shoved him back.  
“Please remind me where we are going, Morgana?” She rolled her eyes at but they were both grinning like fools.  
“Right here.” She stopped in front of one of the many clubs lit up on the street, this one was just rainbow. He pushed open the door and they both went straight to the bar, some things never change.

\---

He had no clue what time it was anymore, it could be daylight or it could b streetlights he couldn't tell anymore he had left his contacts in do long. They stumbled back towards his flat. “Morgs… Morgie Morg.” He slurred. “You are not going to be able to get home like this, just stay in my guest- my guest…”  
“Door?” She asked and they fell into a fit of giggles. “Room! Guest room!” She shouted suddenly.  
“Yes! Stay in that!” He slung his arm over her shoulders happily and they both stumbled.  
“Okay, Merlin.” She dragged out the ‘r’ in his name as they came through the doors. The man at the desk watched him try to get his fob out and came over to take them up.  
“Will you be needing any assistance, Mr. Ambrosius?” The man asked with professional composure Merlin himself had to admire, he couldn't keep serious ever.  
“No, thank you very much, sir.” The man nodded and the doors slid closed. “Okayyyyy Morgie Morg…” He trailed off forgetting what he was speaking about.  
“Guest room!” He shouted after a minute and she shouted it back. “It is…” He spun in a circle trying to remember how to get around his own apartment through his alcohol addled brain. After opening a couple closets and a bathroom they found the guest room.  
He wished Morgana goodnight and made his way to his room and promptly collapsed.

\---

"Merlin!" Her voice came from somewhere deeper in the while trying to find aspirin While he cooked a big, greasy breakfast.  
"What?" He yelled back.  
"Come here right now!" He put down the eggs when he heard the quieter half of her statement. "I found your office." He all but ran to her and his socks slid as he entered the large space. She was wearing a pair of his joggers and an old Avalon sweatshirt, they were huge on her.  
"Morgana, I can-" She cut him off with a raise of her brow. He couldn't explain, there was no way he could explain this secret.  
"So this is why you left us." She picked up one of the awards lining the walls. The name Emrys was engraved in gold, his best album award. "Emrys?" she asked and he felt the overwhelming urge to tell her everything  
"Merlin Emrys Ambrosius. That's my full name. My parents really liked our Arthurian heritage." He stressed the ‘really’ in an attempt to lighten the mood.  
"I guess this explains a little bit, not enough though. I'll be filled in over breakfast?" He nodded slowly and snatched the award from her to place it back on the shelf. He might have kept it hidden from her but he was damn proud of himself and this entire room. She stalked out of the room and he followed her after a minute.  
They sat in silence as he finished cooking and set the plate in front of her at the island that stood proudly in the middle of the kitchen. He sat and started to eat, waiting for her to ask the first question.  
“How?” She eventually asked only one word. “How did this happen.” He studied her profile, she looked betrayed. He had not betrayed anyone he had just disappeared off the face of the earth and became famous without anyone in the world knowing. It's not betrayal, it's not even lying. It's just not informing.  
“I got the offer after that one original song I posted went viral. I couldn't decide if I should take it or not because it meant moving to another country. One day I just said fuck it, called them back, told them to get me transferred into a good college over there and I would take it. So I packed up and they got me a plane and I left, signed the deal after a month over there. Finished my Ph.D. and then started touring and doing all this shit full time.”  
“Freya was pissed when you locked her out of the channel and took it down, and deleted your shared twitter, and shared Instagram, and everything.” He shrugged and took a long drink of water.  
“I did it so I could stay anonymous, and she got even bigger without me. Look at her now, she's famous.” He said.  
“So are you.” She said evenly, having turned sideways on the barstool to watch his reactions.  
“No. No Emrys is famous. Merlin Ambrosius is just a 27-year-old dude who has a suspiciously nice apartment. Emrys can't go anywhere or do anything, Merlin can go wherever and nobody looks twice.” He rambled, his voice got heated as he tried to explain himself. “Look, Morgana, I didn't want to cut everyone out but at the time I needed to. Then, after everyone blew up it just… it just became easier to stay away.” She looked at him sadly as his voice dropped off.  
“But why? Why would you stay away? You disappeared, you could have come back at any time. You still can!” She cried.  
“Because!” He jumped up from the stool and started pacing in front of her. “Because I don't want to be famous, I want Emrys to be famous, but if I came back I wouldn't get that anymore.” She threw her hands up in the air, it was less threatening when they were both in pajamas.  
“Yes, you would, Merlin! There's nothing stopping you!” He tried to run his hand through his hair but it got caught on so many knots he just gave up so he continued pacing.  
“Every single one of you is in the headlines all the time! Hang out with Leon or Elyan? I will be a secret boyfriend. Hang out with Freyna? Her boyfriend. Eventually, they would find out the truth! I like hiding behind a mask. My masks give me everything I have ever wanted, I get to sing and I get to perform which I love but I am also able to go anywhere without getting swarmed. Because trust me getting swarmed sucks it feels awful.” Morgana grabbed his wrist and led him back to his chair.  
“Merlin. You are incredibly famous in a mask, that doesn't mean you can't have friends.” Her voice was soft and it made his heart hurt more.  
“Morgana I don’t… I don’t want to talk about this.” She nodded slowly and turned back to her breakfast and he did the same.

\---

“Will mentioned you today.” His head jerked up as she said the words. They were on his couch, well she was, he was spread out on the floor surrounded by various scraps of paper, notebooks, and brightly colored pens.  
“Why?” She rolled her eyes at his unasked questions. ‘Did you say anything?’ She had known the truth for a month and he had told her everything but he still kept her sworn to secrecy, it just scared him too much.  
“Not really sure, it was kinda random. I was asking advice on a case and he just goes, ‘Merlin would be fascinated by this case.’ Completely out of the blue, you aren't even a lawyer.” She was tapping away on her computer. This had become some sort of a habit for them, she would come over to his place and change out of her scary suit as he called her outfits and they would work on their respective work. He would try and write songs, she would look over cases, sometimes they cooked, sometimes they went out. It was nice to have a friend again, but even he could admit knowing Will still thought about him hurt, just a little.  
“That's strange. What was the case?” She gave him the look he was given quite a lot, it meant she couldn't tell him. “Fine then, listen to the rules or whatever. No balls.”  
“Not all of us get to scribble in glitter pens for a living, Merlin. They didn't even give you a deadline, shocking since you have made no progress at all.” She wasn't allowed to read anything he wrote since most of it was half sentences, but it couldn't be helped since his notes littered the apartment. Pens in the toothbrush holder, index cards with the flour. His defense was inspiration could strike at any time, her argument was that she had found one that just said ‘green goo giant’ on it. ‘It made sense at the time!’ ‘Oh yeah? Do you remember what that could have possibly meant?’ He had flipped her off.  
“Yeah yeah get over it.” He turned back to what he was working on, he had the rough outline of a song done and was now trying to make all the lyrics flow and it just wasn't working.  
He ripped the paper out violently and crumpled it before throwing it into the unlit fireplace. He then proceeded to roll over onto his back and go boneless. “Pretty sure you will need that later.” She commented offhandedly, he waved a hand in the air. “I think you just need inspiration. You know how to get some of that?”  
“LSD.” He responded blandly. He was joking but she wasn't, and she was right. He needed something new, his first album it had been the moving and the pain of leaving everything behind. His second was all the magic he had discovered while in California. Now, there was nothing. He knew he technically had years since artists very rarely pumped out albums as fast as he had in the beginning, that's why he had grown so quickly. He just always had more to give to the music.  
“Friendship.” He groaned loudly. “I am serious, Merlin. If I hadn't found you in the store you would have only ever left this place for food and nothing else. There's a difference between tortured artist and hobbit that doesn't leave his house.”  
He rolled onto his stomach and she set aside her computer and laid down on the couch to face him better. “Morgana. I have told you why I can’t just go and be BFFs with everyone.”  
“First of all, you can say ‘bffs’ in real conversation. Second of all, what if I got everyone somewhere that it was just all of us and nobody else?” He raised an eyebrow that would have made his Uncle Gaius proud.  
“I would tell you to have a great party.” She glared at him and he looked back blankly. She slowly reached forward and plucked the glasses from his face. “Now, I would tell you to have a great party and that I am blind.”  
“Oh, hush I know your vision isn't that bad.” She placed them back on his face crookedly, he didn't have the energy to fix them. “I'm changing my offer. What if I got everyone somewhere that it was just all of us and I kidnapped you and forced you to come to see everyone.”  
“The apartment across the street was rented by bodyguards as a precaution, just in case a psychopath like you comes along and tries to do just that.”  
“Merlin! Why will you not just admit you miss them!” She pleaded. “We both know it's true and I am offering you a way to get to see them again. Please just see everyone and if you really don’t want to be friends with them again just give them closure at least.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m serious! I think you are forgetting they wouldn’t know if you were dead or alive.” That made him feel a little guilty. It had been years and they still obviously cared and still wondered, and she was right, he could have died and they would have just never known. Will would have never known he lost his best friend if they could still be called that.  
“Ok… ok fine you are right. Set up whatever you want, I’ll go.” She squealed and reached out for a hug which he willingly returned.  
“You’ll be thankful afterward, Merlin.” He only nodded and turned back to his words even though his mind was anywhere but music.  
Morgana had started clicking away on both her laptop and phone, work is forgotten as she started planning something he wasn't sure he wanted to imagine.

\---

“Why did we take your car again?” He asked as he fiddled with the radio if only distract himself from where they were driving.  
“Because. I didn't want to take one of yours, I’ve never even seen you drive before. Can you drive?” Morgana's tone was genuinely curious and he scoffed offendedly.  
“I grew up in a small village with Will as my best mate, of course, I can drive. Then, I moved to California where Fast and Furious might as well be a real thing because people actually do that and it's fun.” She turned to him instead of watching the road just to give him a shocked look.  
“You street raced? You?” He flipped her off as he looked back down, he had originally wanted to study computers before switching to history so he knew some basic stuff.  
“Once. Lost but not too bad, it was pretty fun. Eyes on the road.” She shook her head and turned off onto a road even less paved than the last one.  
“I can't believe you are taking me to Pendragon bloody Manor. Most people don't have manors, Morgana.” There was nothing left for him to fiddle with on the radio and his phone had died hours ago.  
“You wanted somewhere out of the way, everyone has been here before and Uther is gone. The weather isn't even too bad this far north this year.” Right after she made the weather comment something large hit the windshield.  
“That was hail. It is hailing. Hailing Morgana. We are going to get snowed in at this bloody manor, its fucking clue. We are going to be in a real-life game of clue. Why have you done this to me? Why have the gods abandoned me and this timeline.” She ignored his prodding in favor of arguing with him.  
“We won't get snowed in, I don't even know where you got that idea. And even if we did this can't become a clue because somebody would need to commit a murder.” She leaned forward to see through the freezing rain.  
“Yes. Somebody will and you know who the victim will be? Me!” She shrugged and took another turn, now another hour of open country roads, god he grew up out here and he hated it.  
“That's your own fault. Karma bitch.” He scoffed and turned on the radio if nothing else at least he could sing.  
They spent the better part of the next two hours singing along to the radio and she made him sing alone every time one of his own songs came on. Jokes on her he was a performer and had tried to climb out of his seat at one point, she had threatened to leave him on the side of the road to curl up and die. He had grabbed her phone at one point and started asking her riddles and refused to give it back until she could answer it, she had stopped the car in the middle of the road and he had laughed so hard she plucked it from his hands and continued driving. He had been dared to stick his head out the window like a dog, he hadn't done it obviously, his hair was damp for a different reason. There was a lengthy debate over which best friend keychains they needed. He really wanted the Captain America and Bucky one but she really wanted the little avocados that fit together. In the end, he was pretty sure they had decided on little pieces on little pieces of apatite because it encouraged creativity and passion, but neither of them was honestly sure because they had gotten distracted by some cows.  
Finally, they started the slow drive up the mile-long driveway and all his anxiety came flooding back. “They are gonna hate me.”  
“They will not hate you, you dollop-head.” ‘that's my word’ “Trust me, Gwaine will probably jump on you like a koala.”  
“You wanna bet on it?” It was a habit they had fallen back into, even back in uni him and Morgana would place bets on everything they could using anything from money to drinks, to bragging rights.  
“Yes. Yes, I do.” She stopped at the gate while it was confirmed to be her car and they opened up.  
“Fine, I’m betting we get snowed in.” She rolled her eyes at that.  
“Deal. What are we betting.” She said casually, it was too much like uni it just makes his nerves worse.  
“Gwaine jumps on me you can make me sing anything you want and film it and vice versa.” She nodded and stuck her hand over and the shook on it.

When they finally pulled up to the doors two of the maids came out to take their luggage and bring it to the arranged rooms. They raced through the rain into the warmth of Pendragon Manor and heard the flood of noise. He had seen all the cars but hearing their voice it was really hitting him. Everything he had left behind was just through a doorway. “Hey.” She nudged him softly. “You ok?” His eyes were a little wet behind his glasses that he would rather not be wearing, he couldn't have worn his contacts for the whole drive since he did nap but still, they made him more self-conscious.  
“Yeah, yeah I’m good or at least I will be. Just nervous, y’know?” She smiled at him sadly and pulled him into a hug.  
“They know I’m bringing a surprise, just… take a deep breath because they will be so happy.” She nodded and she gave him one last squeeze before taking a deep breath and letting his mask slid into place.  
It felt like right before a show, all the adrenaline pounding through his veins, his blood was racing, power coursing through his body. It wasn't one of his brightly colored masks with the signature gold veins and runes, but it was good enough that he could wear it until he didn't need it anymore.  
She watched him and nodded, then turned on her heel and walked straight into the room. He could hear the chorus of shouts to greet her and people demanding the surprise. He listened as she greeted everyone and caught up quickly.  
“Ok, shut up if you want your surprise.” For a room full of very successful adults they quieted and tittered like little kids on a holiday. That thought brought him a little peace. “Ok.” He heard Morgana take a deep breath, for him or for her he wasn't sure. “Merlin!” There was an uproar of voices but he had to walk through the door before he lost his confidence.  
He stepped into the room and it fell silent, people were covering their mouths or in Gwen’s case were crying but most were just staring in shock. It was terrifying, he was itchy in the silence, then Gwaine charged at him and then he suddenly had a face full of hair and arms and legs wrapped around his body. He stumbled backward and had to brace himself on the wall. Then Will got involved, his oldest friend jumped on his and the three collapsed to the ground in a heap. He could hear Morgana laughing in the distance but he was more focused on Will continuously punching him anywhere he could reach while cursing him out with Gwaine still koalaed around his body. It felt so good he just laughed.  
“Ok boys.” Then Morgana was standing over him. “Merlin, I believe I won the bet.” She grunted as she pulled Gwaine off.  
“Yeah yeah whatever, I’m still gonna win too.” She made a little ‘mhm’ noise but before he could argue back he was pulled into Will’s arms. Will was strangling him but Merlin hugged back just as tightly, god he had missed them all but he had barely ever gone more than two days without talking to Will and then he was just gone.  
“You were just fuckin gone mate, nobody knew where you were or what happened you were just gone. Bloody mum wouldn't tell me anything. Me!” Oh it hurt his heart to hear Wills accent, he may live in London but his good old Ealdor accepts was still stronger than his, he missed his home.  
“I know. I know and I am sorry, I really am.” Will nodded and stepped back leaving Merlin to face the room.  
“Uh…” He said awkwardly. Really good performer there Ambrosius, he thought bitterly. “Hello.”  
“Hello?!” Someone burst out, it was Lance. Lance was scary when he was angry, Merlin's brain supplied quickly. Well, he was fucked. “It has been over seven bloody years, Merlin!” He flinched as Lance and his screaming got closer. “Seven years and that's what you say to us?! Hello!” Before he could defend himself Lance was pulling him into a hug a lot like Will’s, one that just made his heartache and his ribs crack.  
Lance eventually pulled back and Leon, Percival, and Elayn were all standing there, even bigger if possible, and then he got pulled into another hug. “Fuckin’ hell, Merlin.” Elayn protested. “You got even taller didn't ya?” He could only grin and shrug as Percival punched his shoulder.  
“And our boy has got some muscle, finally learned what the gym was then eh?” He punched Percy back who made a big show of it and Merlin couldn't thank them enough, but when they stepped away he was faced with Freya.  
She was glaring at him, violently, and he deserved it, yes but he didn't want it to be happening. “You have so much explaining to do.” She growled before pulling him into a hug, she might be scary but he could feel her tears against his neck as he held her tight. She was still so much shorter than him, but it felt so right to back with all of them again, it just hurt. He smiled at Morgana and nodded slightly, trying to tell her just how grateful he was that she had made him do this.  
They went through and continued with the hugs and the crying, Gwen had sobbed into his shirt while Arthur had pulled him into such a tight hug he thought his back would break. Just when everyone had gotten seated on the couches, Merlin shoved between Will and Freya, they had been informed dinner was ready. Catch up was put on hold by Gwaine throwing himself into Percy's lap and talking about he was 'dying of starvation' after their drive down. They all migrated into the dining room semi-peacefully.  
"Merlin should be at the head of the table. " Gwen proclaimed which he quickly declined.  
"I will just sit by Morgana's while she at the head, it is their house after all.” Arthur looked a little hurt Merlin had not chosen to sit next to him like he always had in uni, but this wasn't uni anymore and he wasn't sure he was ready to face Arthur again. Even after seven years. Gwen pouted a bit but she would be seated across from him with Lance next to her and Freya next to him. 

The dinner was, of course, a full course meal that was prepared incredibly but it was being wasted on a large group of adults that were acting more like teenagers.  
“You will be hanging out with us!” Leon yelled at him down the table, he was leaning so far forward Elyan moved his cup so it wouldn't spill.  
“I live in London! Bloody hell I promise you ok?” He called back, this entire dinner had been a lot of shouting at him and him shouting back.  
“You live in London, you bloody wanker?!” Gwaine shouted, standing up fully while Percival tried to pull him back down but he was laughing too hard to really do anything. “We live in the same city and I still haven't seen you!” ‘London is a big city, Gwaine.’ Arthur commented.  
Before he could argue Morgana calmly responded for him. “They live in the same area, Merlin is just a recluse who does not leave his apartment. Ever.” People looked shocked considering Gwaine lived in the nicest part of London, then again Merlin did too.  
“I leave my apartment!” He protested.  
“You do not. You would barely even eat if I wasn't there.”  
“Yes, see, I leave to get groceries.” She gave him a bored look.  
“You started getting your groceries brought to you two weeks ago.”  
“Well, they offered!” She rolled her eyes at him and stabbed a potato. “Why leave when I don't have to, I get enough vitamin D through the windows.” Lance was looking at him with such disappointment in his eyes Freya just started cackling.  
“Merlin, mate, no.” He said sadly which sent a roar of laughs around the table.  
“Ok, ok.” Arthur started, maybe he was a little tipsy. Maybe they were all getting a little tipsy? Tipsy off wine, the voice in his head scoffed, what an adult you are. The little voice was very rude to him. “Did we ignore Morgana saying Merlin and Gwaine live near each other. Merlin what the fuck is your job man.” There were some other voices that piped up in agreement but he could barely hear it over the buzzing that had filled his head.  
Morgana was glaring at her brother and when she finally felt Merlin's eyes on her she nodded as if to say he should tell them. “I-” He stopped, he didn't want to say it like this. He wanted to explain himself to certain people first, like Freya. And Arthur. Blurting it out like this felt too impersonal. He just shrugged and took a long drink of water till people slowly moved on.  
Once the attention had shifted onto Percy instead he leaned over and whispered to Freya. “Hey, can we talk somewhere else?” She gave him a startled look but stood and took his hand to lead him out of the dining room. He pointedly avoided everyone watching them, this meant he missed Arthur’s narrowed eyes.  
Freya pulled him through the kitchen and into the living room filled with large armchairs and couches. He sat them down on the couch and turned to face her. “What is it, Merlin?” She asked, her voice was laced with concern as she took in the lines of his face hungrily. He did the same to her, he had missed her greatly these past years. Working with her. Talking to her.  
“I-” He stopped again, he had no clue how to just come out and say it. “Arthur asked what I do and I don’t… I don’t want to just say it without explaining myself to you first.” She nodded slowly as a way to tell him to continue. He watched the waves of her brown hair move like the California ocean. “Do you remember how I deleted the youtube, and the Instagram, and the twitter?” He winced as he listed off what he had done.  
“Yeah. I always wondered about that. Why did you do that anyway?” It seemed like she was over it now, well it had been seven years and she was very famous in her own right.  
“I did that because I,” He took a deep breath. Why was this so hard to say? “I got a record deal, so I moved out to California but I- I wanted to stay anonymous so I deleted anything that connected me to singing or anything that could identify me.” She gasped.  
“You… you got a record deal. Before me?” She asked with a mock offense and he laughed if only a little awkwardly.  
“Yeah, I uh… that way if anyone tried to hunt me down they would see I enrolled in a college in California to finish my master and assume I had left the singing and stuff since I had no social media.” She nodded slowly.  
“So did you get big?” He chuckled a little at her question, then asked one of his own.  
“Do you remember a year and a half ago how you wanted to do a couple songs with Emrys?” She nodded slowly then gasped as the pieces fell into place.  
“You’re Emrys!” She whisper-shouted and he shushed her quickly before nodding.  
“Yeah, I uh- I did everything without my name attached. Emrys isn't a common enough name for people to think it was anything but a stage name which meant when people looked for my actual name they were looking in all the wrong places.” She just stared at him in shock for a minute before shaking her head.  
“I can't believe you refused a song with me.” Now it was his turn to stare at her. She laughed. “I’m kidding. But why Emrys? Always thought it was kind of strange.”  
“Merlin Emrys Ambrosius. If you thought my mother wasn't into Arthurian mythology enough.” Freya laughed with him now and stood up.  
“Well, thank you for telling me, and I do hope you chose to work with me now.” She raised an eyebrow only half-jokingly.  
“Of course! I just… panicked ya’ know?” She nodded and pulled him into another hug.  
“There is a glass of wine waiting for me in the other room so I am going to go return to my one true love, get yourself together and come join me.” She left the room with a chuckled and he took a deep breath before wiping his eyes that had become damp at some point during that conversation.  
As he made to return to dinner with everyone else, he was met with a wall of blond muscle. Arthur was blocking the door. “...Hey Arthur.” He said slowly, they haven't really spoken much tonight and Merlin was 100% avoiding him.  
“Merlin.” He was an inch taller than Arthur but he still felt dwarfed, less by Arthur and more by the weight of their complicated past. His arms were crossed as he glared.  
Then it hit him. “Did you listen to our conversation?” He asked outraged, Arthur at least had the sense to look guilty. “Arthur, what the hell? That wasn't for you to hear!” Now he was the one glaring angrily. He might not be as strong as Arthur was but he had been working out his years away and could be very intimidated if he wanted to be.  
“I-well…” The air crackled around him and his blood rose to boil as his anger grew. Arthur had listened to his conversation with Freya, a conversation he had left the room to have. That usually meant don't follow.  
“You followed us! You eavesdropped!” He crossed his arms and looked down his nose at Arthur, something he had learned from the prat himself and now used to intimidate the record label when they tried to convince him to reveal his identity or take on a song he didn’t want. Apparently, it was efficient.  
“Yeah… maybe.” He said awkwardly, three hours back and they were already fighting. Typical, Arthur was too arrogant to see how what he did was wrong sometimes  
“Why?” Merlin managed to growl out. Arthur paled and satisfaction and guilt were intertwined in his gut.  
“Well, I just…” Arthur huffed and turned his chin up. Merlin’s blue eyes bore into his head until Arthur’s eyes met his and the other man continued. “I saw you leaving with Freya, and I just… you know.” He said meekly.  
“You what, Arthur? What could have possibly possessed you to think that me leaving the room with Freya would allow you to follow? And listen!” He started. He was ready to chew Arthur out for a good couple minutes before turning and going back to everyone else when Arthur spoke.  
“I got jealous ok!” He burst out. Then, realizing what he said he lowered his voice. “I got jealous. You’ve been talking to Morgana for months, you’re all over Will and Gwaine, Gwen and you have been attached at the hip. Then, I saw you leaving with Freya and I don’t know I just… wanted to know why you weren’t talking to me.” Merlin opened his mouth to respond and Arthur kept on rambling right over him. “See it's just, you left when we were on very bad terms and all this time I’ve lived thinking I would just never see you again and it would have been left at that. And I didn’t want it to be left the way we left it. I kept trying to find you and I couldn’t believe you were able to hide so well. Now I know why I guess.” Then the weight of what he had heard finally hit him, Merlin could see the understanding flashing through his blue eyes.  
“Holy hell. You are Emrys.” He winced and nodded, still wasn’t used to people saying it when he wasn’t wearing the comforting weight of his masks. “I-”  
Wanting to switch the conversation topic as quickly possible he blurted out the next words that came to mind. “Why were you jealous?” Wrong words.  
A blush started to spread up Arthur's neck. "Well, I-er… just you know. Saw you leaving with Freya and wondered why it wasn’t me you were leaving with."  
Merlin raised an eyebrow at him now acutely aware of the glasses resting on his nose and his travel clothes. "Like? Romantically? Or in a we-were-best-mates way?" When he mentioned it being romantic Arthurs blush deepened and Merlin’s anger flared to life again. "No. No, Arthur, you don't get to just say that." He could feel his face heating up but he was too lost in old pain to care too much. "Seven years ago we slept together and when I went to tell you I had actual real feelings for you, you told me the whole thing was a mistake and you were straight. You told me to forget about it, so I tried." His volume was growing but old anger he had forced down was resurfacing, painfully. "From then on it was like I didn't have a best friend anymore. You were just gone. Be mad at me for leaving all you want but just remember you did it first." He pushed past a silent Arthur back towards the kitchen, Morgana might have dragged him here but he was with his friends again and he refused to let Arthur ruin it.  
Everyone had left the table and was sitting or leaning on various surfaces with drinks that were harder than wine. He strolled over to Morgana and jumped up on the counter beside her. "You know, that rain turned into snow. I sure do hope I don't win this bet." He said. That pulled her attention away from her conversation with Mordred and onto him.  
"Oh please. You're not winning, it might be snowing but not enough we won't be able to leave." Talk of a bet got others attention then, suddenly, the whole room was silent waiting for an explanation. "Well you see, I bet Merlin that Gwaine would jump on him." She graciously left out the part about them hating him. "He called bullshit and bet me we would all get snowed in."  
"To which she said wouldn't happen, but here we are. Out in the country, with a lot of snow coming down and all your poor fancy cars." Nobody got his joke but they all laughed regardlessly, just for a different reason. Elyan opened his mouth to ask the next question but Merlin was expecting it. "If I lose, which I did, she gets to make me sing any song and film it. If she loses, which she will, I get to do the same to her. It's great blackmail."  
"How is she blackmailing you?" Someone asked loudly from the entrance, it was Arthur. Merlin glared at him before letting the mask of ease slip over his features. He could do this. They were his friends. They were his friends, and they still would be after this.  
"Well, you all asked what I do? I moved to California after I got a record deal. Finished my Ph.D. just in case music hadn't worked out, but because I wanted to be able to walk around if it did blow up we made a stage name and got some fancy masks made. Boom Emrys was born." It hurt to tell the story so casually, he wanted to talk about the loneliness that influenced every part of his act or how much blood, sweat, and tears went into it. He didn't do any of that. Instead, he let their outraged shouts and accusations wash over him until he couldn't take it anymore. He whispered quickly to Morgana that he was going to sleep and that he could find his room on his own before simply disappearing.

\---

Hours later he sat alone on his bed with earbuds in tapping away at his computer, too absorbed in his work to notice people peeking in or leaving him drinks. None of that was as concerning as some crazy rich dude who was trying to literally buy him, not buy his brand or contract or anything. Someone wanted to literally buy him to see if he is as cute as he seems under that mask. People scared him sometimes. He had planned on sleeping, waking up early, and telling Morgana they could leave or she could get a ride back with someone else and he was leaving. Some small part of him raged at that plan, at running away again, the rest of him felt like he was about to be put on trial and burned on a pyre like they did to witches back in the times of King Arthur. He wasn’t sure why that's what he associated it with but he did, perhaps he was a criminal in his past life.  
His scholar’s brain started arguing immediately about the politics and beliefs of those times and how they burned anybody who worshipped the gods, his gods, at the time. He chose to stay away from politics, his country wasn't a disaster like America is but people could still be very judgmental. So he kept his beliefs to himself as Merlin and as Emrys. If people wanted to look into the history behind Emrys and make speculations they could go right ahead.  
His computer went dark after so long lost in thought, with a sigh he just decided to close it and deal with the strange man tomorrow. He would always argue he was on UK time and hope they weren’t. Reaching blindly for his phone he paused the crooning voice of Freddie Mercury and fell into fitful dreams of a blond man in chainmail armor he could feel he would do anything for.

\---

“Merlin.” He groaned and tried to slap the finger poking him away. “Merlin come on, wake up we are going to talk.” He opened one eye to see Gwen standing over him.  
“Nggg.” He mumbled before rolling back over.  
“Merlin. Up.” She ripped the blankets back and he scrambled to cover his body from the cold.  
“Fine. Fine. I’m up.” He said roughly as he sat up and stretched his back. He moved to the side so she could sit and pulled his phone up from the sheets.  
Gwen plopped herself down and curled her socked feet under her. “Merlin.” She started. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”  
“Ask any question and I will answer, just hurry we don't have a lot of time. I plan on leaving early.” She frowned at him.  
“We are snowed in for an indefinite amount of time, better get comfortable,” He grumbled something inaudible, but internally he was wondering why the gods hate him so much. "Oh, it's not that bad. You get to spend time with me.” She said.  
He laughed a little and turned his head to look at her, really look at her. Gwen was one of the first people he had become really close with, of course, there were Gwaine and Lance, but Gwen had just been so welcoming and friendly he warmed up to her the quickest. She looked happier than she had back then like her world was finally right. At least one of them got that. “That is very true, I get to spend time with you so it can't be all bad. I mean maybe a little bad, because you know what happened-” She hit his shoulder with a giggle.  
“Shut up, Merlin. Tell about all the cool things you’ve done as a secret famous person.” He knew it had been heading in this direction the second she woke him up, but for some reason, he didn't mind it too much. Gwen was just… Gwen. She was Gwen and it was perfect.  
He launched into his story with little hesitation, he spoke of every wonderful thing he had gotten to do in California and the gorgeous college he had graduated from. ‘University of San Deigo’ He had said proudly and she had cringed. He babbled about the beautiful places he had traveled in the world. The amazing people he had met and every crazy fan he had encountered. The good and the bad, the bright and dirty. He told her everything. He told her about the protests he got when he first went on stage with a pride flag, the support he had gotten on the flip side.  
“No I am dead serious, I met Queen and they all said they liked my music!” Gwen could barely respond she was laughing at him so hard, his face was flushed and his mouth was dry but he hasn't felt this good since his first tour had ended.  
“I would kill to have any of them wear my clothes.” She stated. “Even John!”  
“Well, I’m like best friends with them now so.” “You are not, you wanker!” They dissolve into laughter and didn't notice anyone come into the room till Leon was standing over them.  
“If you two children are done screaming loud enough for the whole house to hear, breakfast is ready.” He ran out the door cackling as Gwen lobbed a pillow and Merlin called some obscenities after him.  
“Good, I’m starved.” He stated and slipped out of bed. “What?” he asked as her smile grew even larger if possible. Oh, oh, she was worried he would refuse to hang out with everyone. He brushed that off quickly and kept going. “Well come on, we have to go call Roger Taylor don't we?” He offered a hand to pull her up off the bed, she took and stood beside him.  
He started to head towards the bathroom to put in his contacts but she pulled him back. “Glasses. Please, you look so cute?” She whined, he knew they were not leaving until he agreed so he just nodded and let Gwen pull him down to breakfast. 

They walked into the formal dining room where the food had been set out bickering again. “I do not care who said what, Mister, you are lying to me and it makes you an asshole.”  
“Oh yeah sure, I’m the one lying here.” She glared at him and he glared back as the took their seats.  
“You are lying, just admit it and this will all be over.” Gwen said, her voice sharp and final. Merlin crossed his arms across his chest and flopped back in the large chair, his elbow accidentally knocking into whoever was on his left. He muttered a quick sorry without looking.  
“I am not lying. You just have no faith in me, none.” He snapped, he wasn't actually mad, they weren't actually fighting. It just was so easy to fell back into old patterns.  
“What are you two idiots arguing about then?” That person on his left spoke, their deep voice made Merlin freeze up. Of course, he had ended up next to Arthur.  
Before he or Gwen had to respond Morgana came sweeping into the room. “So I’m sure you all know that we have been graciously snowed in by mother nature.” Ever the pleasant hostess it seems.  
“Mother nature is a whore.” He muttered under his breath, Arthur snickered next to him and Merlin hated the warm feeling that flooded his chest at the sound. He didn't want to still have these feelings for Arthur, his, mind replayed their conversation from the night before. How red Arthur had turned, how the truth had flooded out of him like he couldn't hold it back anymore, how tight his shirt had been on his muscled shoulders.  
Merlin jerked himself back to the present and quickly loaded food onto his plate. “How much food can you eat, Merlin?” Percival asked down the table.  
“More than you can, big man.” Mordred snickered into his drink. “Oh? Are we drinking already Mordie? What time is it again? 10, yeah. Healthy.” Mordred sent him the finger from down the table.  
“Have you looked who I’m trapped in a house with? Now you’re back and my room is next to Arthur’s.” Some people around the table laughed but all Merlin could focus on was the color rising on Arthur’s cheeks.  
“Yeah, I’m back with you a lot and not drinking yet. I think it's just a you thing.” Mordred smirked and stood, leaning over the table.  
“Do you want a sip?” Merlin stood. His eyes flicked to Arthur for only a second. Then, he reached across the table and wrapped his lips around the straw. He smiled around the straw and took a long drink before pulling off with a smack.  
“I’m going to need more of those throughout the day.” Mordred grinned at him and raised the glass in a silent toast before they both sat back in their seats. He looked around the table, Arthur was staring down at his food with his face a fiery red. ‘Stop drooling, Gwaine. You have your own boyfriend to drool over.’ Freya snarked at him. Merlin, however, was too preoccupied with admiring the sharp planes of Arthur's face to listen.

\---

After breakfast, they had decided to see how much fun they could have while indoors since the snow had really started to pile up. If it kept coming down at this rate in a couple hours it would start to bar the doors. They were children at heart honestly, Merlin laughed at the thought of the press seeing them now. Two of the biggest celebrities on the planet wrestling a mattress from a famous lawyer so they could ride it down the stairs with a top model.  
“Morgana just let us be pirates!” Freya cried through her laughter. “We will let you on the ship, we promise!”  
“I will not let any traitor on my ship!” Gwaine called from another room where he, Leon, and Lance were getting blankets.  
“You’re not the captain, Gwaine! Freya and I are the captains, you, Merlin, Percival, and Lance are under our command!”  
“Come on Gwen you already stole my boyfriend from me! Can you give me this?” Somewhere in another hall Gwen and Percival were collecting pillows.  
“Gwaine I love you but if you captained the ship would skin in minutes!”  
“Nobody is riding mattresses down the stairs of my father's manor!” Morgana shrieked but Freya grabbed her wrist and pulled her down and Gwaine and Merlin pushed them down the slick staircase and jumped on.  
Loud screams echoed through the house and they flew into the pile of pillows and blankets they had amassed at the bottom. With so much momentum they kept going and rammed straight into Arthur’s legs as he was coming out of the kitchen after coffee. He, of course, landed right in Merlin's lap when they finally slid to a stop he had a very large, very muscled man who he had maybe some feelings for- no, no he did not have feelings at all.  
Arthur looked up at him and Merlin looked back. His mouth went dry and his hand absentmindedly drifted towards Arthur’s hair, just to touch it. He just wanted to see if it was as soft as he remembered. The rest of the world faded away, it was like he could look anywhere but Arthur’s blue eyes. Couldn't feel anything aside from the soft, blond hair beneath his fingers. Then, it all came rushing back to him. He jerked his hand away and all but ran once he got out from under Arthur. 

He made it back to the hallway where his room was at least. He collapsed against the wall with his hands shaking and his heart racing faster than it had in months. All he could think was Arthur.  
Arthur  
Arthur  
Arthur  
Arthur’s hair. His face. How they used to banter. How loyal they had been to each other. How pure Arthur’s heart was. How good of a man Merlin believed he could become. He didn't know if Arthur was truly that man, it had been so long Merlin knew nothing about Arthur anymore. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.  
He slid down the wall and clenched his hands into fists. Why did it hurt so much? Of course, he wouldn't know anything about Arthur, he left. Merlin was the one that chose to leave, he had yelled at Arthur that it had been his fault but he knew that wasn't true. It was his own fault nobody made him do anything. He rested his forehead on his knees and just tried to block out the world.  
“Merlin.” A soft hand rested on his arm. “Merlin, c’mon look at me.” It was Arthur's voice flowing through his brain, it was Arthur’s hand on his arm.  
He slowly lifted his head and met those blue eyes that had haunted him for as long as he could remember. “What do you want?” He said, his voice a lot weaker than he would have wished.  
“Can we talk? Please, Merlin? I just want to talk, no yelling no nothing. Just talk to me.” He gave a small shrug of his shoulders and Arthur took it as a go ahead.  
“Listen, Merlin, I-I don't… I don't know how to-to…” Arthur sighed and looked down, he looked so much like a kicked puppy Merlins heart ached.  
“Did you mean it all?” He asked softly and after a moment of hesitation, he rested his hand on Arthur’s cheek. “Did you mean it, Arthur?” He pulled his hand back, he didn't think he would be able to take it if Arthur said no.  
“I-I… Merlin, you leaving was so awful. So, so awful. At first, I didn't know why… why it hurt so bad. I missed you more than anything and I really did not know why then you just never came back and all the scattered pieces fell into place.” Merlin squeezed his eyes shut at Arthur’s soft words. “You know, Morgana had to spell it out for me. But once she said it… it felt so right. Like those were the words I had been waiting for my whole life and I thought… I thought I would never get to say them to you. Then… then, you were back and I…” Merlin pushed his finger against Arthur’s lip, unable to meet his eyes again.  
“What are the words, Arthur? What are you talking about.” His voice was so shaky, he was so unsure. It had been so long since he had felt so unsure about himself. He ached to feel the cool stone of his mask over his face, something to cover the ugly shade of red his face must be.  
Arthur held his chin and forced the foreheads together. Merlin sighed and strained his every sense for Arthur next movement. “I love you.” His voice was barely a breath but Merlin wanted to sob once he heard them. Arthur loved him back, Arthur… he loved him too.  
“I love you too.” He said after a minute of silence. At his words, Arthur let out the breath he had been holding and pulled him into his arms and held on tight. They fit together perfectly, Merlin buried his nose in Arthur’s hair and held onto his shoulders like they were a lifeline.  
“God, Merlin I-” He cut Arthur off with a kiss. Arthur returned it readily and cupped his face.  
“Don't talk. Don't think about the past for a minute. Can we just appreciate that this finally happened?” Arthur laughed before nodding.  
“Yeah, yeah we can do that.” Then Arthur was kissing him again. They continued kissing until Percival found them and screamed so loud everyone knew what had happened in seconds. 

\---

Hours had passed and Arthur still hadn't been able to brush off the warm, fuzzy feeling that had flooded his chest when Merlin had kissed him. Now, even as he watched Merlin and Will roll across the floor screaming, he couldn't force the smile off his face.  
They had all been sat around on the couches debating what they should watch when Merlin and Will had returned from their adventures in the snow. Nobody else would join them, it was too cold, but they were country boys and you could take them out of the country but they were country boys at heart. Their faces were red and they had been shaking like leaves, but they had come in laughing with their arms around each other tripping as if they had come from a bar.  
Merlin had sat down and pressed himself into Arthur’s side when the fight had started. Lance had made the mistake of asking what the two wanted to watch, Merlin started immediately campaigning for any Marvel movies they could find. Mordred, Freya, Elyan, Leon, and Percival backed him and said they wanted to do a marathon. Everyone else, however, had shut it down claiming they had all seen the movies way too many times.  
‘Come on, Merlin, you can quote the movies and we have all seen them a thousand times. Let's watch something else.’ ‘You take that back, there is no such thing as watching a Marvel movie too many times.’ ‘Oh yeah?’ Will had been smirking like a bastard as he punched Merlin on the shoulder. ‘Yeah.’ Merlin had challenged. Then, he launched himself at Will like the children they were.  
Morgana had shoved them off the couch while everyone watched in amusement as they rolled around on the floor. Neither was really hurting the other, just pulling at clothes and screaming back and forth. “I am not watching your weird Australian reality show!”  
“Yummy Mummies is a wonderful show! It's better than watching you thirst over all of the Avengers some more!” If Arthur had not known the pair he would have been worried, but having know them seven years. Well technically seven years, made him lean over and ask Gwen if she wanted popcorn too.  
“I do not want to watch four pregnant women scream at each other!” Merlin managed to say through his laughter.  
“Do not insult Jane like that!” Will shouted back. Merlin then proceeds to flip them over so he had Will’s wrists pinned above his face and they were nose to now. Arthur felt the sharp knife of jealousy stabbing through his chest at the sight. He had only had Merlin for a couple hours and seeing him that close with anyone else cause every nerve in his body screamed to wrap Merlin in his arms.  
“Boys!” Mordred shouted. “We are watching neither because you can't shut up. Now go cuddle with each other or something.” Merlin looked straight at Arthur with a crooked smile on his face and winked. The bloody bastard had the audacity to wink at him as he climbed off another man. Arthur was so incredibly turned on he could only glare.  
Merlin plopped himself down next to Arthur and curled into his side and any anger he held melted into affection. He pulled Merlin closer and rested his cheek on the nest of black curls. Nobody looked at them twice, nobody questions how they rested. It was their small heaven and Arthur could not have been happier with how it had turned out.

Hours later they had watched more comedy specials of Netflix than he could remember, had dinner on the couch or floor and were now halfway through Hercules when almost everyone had fallen asleep. Merlin was asleep with his head in Arthurs lap and Gwen was using Merlins thighs as a pillow. Percival had his head on Gwaine's shoulder who was asleep on an awake Leon. Mordred and Freya were both asleep in Will who was trying to take pictures of it all. Morgana had her feet on Gwen's back and leaned on Freya's side but she was still awake, unfortunately.  
“So, Arthur,” Will spoke up. Leon snickered at his tone, known each other for seven bloody years and had become very close when Merlin left yet Will was still about to threaten to beat his arse. “Looks like you two sorted your shit out.” He nodded to his hand that had been playing with Merlins curls.  
“Sorted their shit out is an understatement. I swear those two were in love since the first time they met.” Will laughed softly, trying not to wake up the two people asleep on him.  
“And if we did?” He challenged. It was Leon that spoke up though.  
“Don't let him leave again.” His words held so much weight, they conveyed how much everyone else had missed Merlin, not just him. They thinly veiled threat was there. If he did anything that made Merlin run again there would be hell to pay.  
Will nodded as if Leon had covered all of it before changing the subject. “So, how are we getting out of this situation.” Arthur just shrugged and tried to stifle laughter and Will tried to extract himself without Freya and Mordred waking up. Those two ended up almost touching at the head as Will dropped them onto pillows. Morgana stood carefully and stretched her back. “Goodnight then, the weather says we should be able to potentially leave by tomorrow afternoon.” Then she was gone and Arthur stayed to watch Leon struggle. Slowly Will drifted out of the room followed by Leon once he had gotten Gwaine and Percival situated. That left just Arthur.  
He looked down at Merlin’s serene face looking back up at him. He leaned down and started leaving butterfly kisses everywhere, across his brow and cheekbones, his nose and chin until he finally reached his lips. Merlin smiled up at him sleepily and blinked his eyes open. “That's a sight I can get used to.” He whispered.  
“Come on love, let's go up to bed. Careful not to wake Gwen.” Merlin wrinkled his face as he looked at the women sleeping on his legs before swiftly replacing them with a pillow.  
“Practice.” He winked and reached for Arthur's hand. It was taken readily as Merlin led him up to the guest room he had been staying in since the first time he arrived. Arthur would normally protest that he had a bigger bed, but the room smelled of Merlin and his little signature clutter covered every surface. There was an empty guitar case open on the floor that was covered in stickers, the physical guitar was laid across the foot of the bed. His open laptop sat beside it, there was a notebook on the floor and another one of the bedside table. Arthur could count at least five glitter pens scattered around.  
“It's been like two days. How is it so messy?” Merlin shushed him as he moved the guitar and laptop onto the floor, not bothering to put them away.  
“Come to bed.” Merlin whispered as he clicked off the light and crawled under the huge duvet, those three words were something Arthur wanted to hear every day for the rest of his life. He lay down beside Merlin who immediately pulled him close and wrapped him in his arms. Yeah, this was good.

\---

Waking up to a face full of black curls was the best way to wake up in Arthurs very credible opinion. Seeing Merlin stumble towards the bathroom grumbling about the cold in nothing but joggers giving a view of his muscled back and chest was even better. Arthur lay in bed trying to find his phone among the sheets and read through his emails. Emails from his father about how quickly he can get back to the office, email from the board about how quick he can get back to the office, emails from pointless stores and journalists wanting promotions or interviews. He clicked deleted on all of them without even opening them.  
Merlin came out of the bathroom grumbling about something and tripped over the guitar left on the floor. “What's wrong with you this fine morning?” He asked through a chuckle as Merlin cursed at the guitar.  
“Bloody contacts.” Was the only explanation he was given. He gathered that Merlin didn't really love his glasses, but Arthur loved them like literally everyone else who had ever seen them.  
“Won't go in?” He asked casually as he rolled across the bed to grab Merlin’s glasses and the man himself.  
“Arthur.” He whined half-heartedly.  
“You look cute in them.” He was given a withering glare. “What? You do. Wear them today.” He had to make that point because Merlin was stubborn enough to try and manage the whole day blind.  
“No.” Merlin said as he shoved them on his face and rolled away. “Come on. Get up. I’m starving over here and I will leave without you.”  
He rolled his eyes at his boyfriend. Oh, he loved being able to call Merlin that. “You’re always starving. Give me a minute.” Merlin pouted and Arthur sighed. “Fine go down and eat, I will meet you down there in a minute.” Merlin snatched up his phone and earbuds and left the room without another word. 

He made his way downstairs expecting to have a calm breakfast with Merlin by his side, maybe cuddle and watch some movies on the couch. He never got what he expected when all his friends were together. He walked into the kitchen where Merlin, Morgana, Mordred, and Gwaine where all glaring at each other while everyone else was in a circle around that chanting ‘drink’ over and over. It was ten in the morning.  
He slipped next to Lance who was most likely to give him a sane answer. “What is happening?”  
“Remember that bet Merlin and Morgana mentioned?” He nodded something about snow, Gwaine, and singing. “Yeah, well neither of them want the other to have that type of blackmail. No clue why not like they are both manipulative sociopaths at times.” Arthur snickered and didn't even try and deny it, Merlin and Morgana loved each other but he had watched them torture each other over the smallest things and this was no different.  
“Ok, makes sense, but why are four of them up there drinking at 10?” Lance zoned back into their conversation, he had gotten distracted by Percival’s excited shouting. Mordred had found another bottle of wine. Wine. They were getting drunk off wine.  
“Um, Merlin and Morgana are drinking cause first one to give up will have to sing? I think? I’m not really sure. Gwaine and Mordred are just up there because they like to drink I believe.” Arthur nodded.  
“Can we leave them to it and get real food?” He said. Lance nodded gratefully. They looked at Gwen, Freya, and Will who were screaming as much as Percival, Elyan, and Leon and decided to leave them to it.  
The pair of them left the kitchen to try and find anything that had already been cooked, having live in staff at the manor was the best thing Uther ever did in Arthurs mind. They managed to find some eggs and toast and settled in the main living room to eat and catch up.  
“So you stayed in Merlin’s room last night, eh?” Lance smirked at him as Arthur blushed bright red.  
“Yeah, maybe.” Lance snickered at Arthurs small voice.  
“Not gonna hurt him are you?” Arthur sighed, he should have expected this. Everyone was pretending like Merlin’s little disappearing act was over and done with but it still weighed heavily on all their minds. The same collective question. What if he leaves again? What are they going to do? They are all so strongly in the public eye every movement would be tracked and he always has people watching him even if they don't know who they are watching. It was strange that they all knew this massive secret now, one the entire world has been after for years and they were the one group of people that wouldn't think twice.  
“No. Never, I could never.” Lance nodded slowly and they sat in silence for a few minutes until there was a loud crash from the kitchen.  
“Do we ignore that or we go take care of them?” With a heavy sigh, Arthur stood and went to investigate. 

It was a pot. They had dropped a pot. He did not know why they had a pot, he did not want to. He also questioned what kind of people he hung around with that were tipsy at 11 in the morning and shouting like children. After a minute he was able to figure out what the yelling was about, Merlin and Morgana had a bet they both still had to do.  
“Ok!” Called Gwaine as they all migrated into the living room. “Merlin and Morgana,” He giggles. “Have to sing a song, of the others choosing. Now personally I think I should get to choose the songs because I have amazing taste and I-” Freya stood and put a hand over his mouth. At least she was mostly sober. They must have gotten into something harder than wine.  
“Merlin!” She shouted and he looked up from whispering conspiratorially with Gwen. Merlin could drink a lot so he looked mostly in the right mind but just gone enough to make this entertaining. He sat beside Leon and Elyan who were both sober and looked very amused. “What is the Lady Morgana singing today.” Merlin snickered as he pulled out his phone.  
“She's gotta embrace her inner Sharpay Evans and sing Fabulous. It seems appropriate.” Arthur roared with laughter along with many of the other people in the room.  
“Jokes on you, I’m richer than Sharpay and way hotter. Plus, I know all the words.” ‘That's not something to be proud of.’ He called from his place on the couch and was given a withering glare.  
Leon elbowed him and showed the first video of many to be taken. It was Elyan mumbling something to a slightly tipsy Percival, but in the background, you could hear Morgana's little opening speech. Oh, the press would have a field day and he didn't even regret it.  
Gwen pulled up the background music and words and got them on the tv. Fabulous from High School Musical blared through the speakers and Morgana stepped up onto the antique coffee table. Uther would have had a fit. 

“Its out with the old, and in with the new  
Goodbye clouds of grey, hello skies of blue  
A dip in the pool, a trip to the spa  
Endless days in my chaise  
The whole world according to moi”

Morgana had a good voice he could admit that she got all the musical talent. She wasn't as mind-blowing as Merlin or Freya but she could sing very good and that was more than Arthur. He could barely carry a tune. He looked around to see Merlin sitting in a chair with his phone out filming every second of it, so was Gwen as well as Leon taking random videos of Elyan looking very sad with the singing in the background. He made his way over and kissed Merlin on the back of the neck. And all he got in return was a wave of a hand!

“Iced tea imported from England  
Lifeguards imported from Spain  
Towels imported from Turkey  
And turkey imported from Maine”

Ironically, she got all the voice cues right. Arthur had seen this movie growing up with her more times than he cared to remember and could probably sing it too if he really wracked his brain. It was fun, to see her dancing around on top of a table in her pajamas and her hair wet and flying around her face. There was a very big grin on her face that he had not seen in a very long time. Laughter bubbled up in his chest and she danced along with the song. He pulled out his own phone to get some of the experience on video, he wanted to remember it.

“We’re gonna relax and renew  
You go do”

She jumped down and threw an arm around him, she was Sharpay which meant he was Ryan without the theater talent and weird bright pink hat. That was all Arthur really remembered. She danced off to harass Mordred once the next line came.

“She wants fabulous, that is my simple request  
All things fabulous, bigger and better and best  
She needs something inspiring to help me get alone  
She needs a little fabulous, is that so wrong?”

Morgana could have been a performer in another life, she was so electric like this. He had seen her in court and it was terrifying and fascinating but this was fun. She was laughing her way through the words and she tried to wrestle Mordred into singing with her and trying to smile and wink at Merlin’s phone as much as possible. He loved seeing his sister like this, he loved seeing his friends like this. Who cares if it's before noon and they are tipsy singing high school musical? They were happy and that was more than enough for Arthur.

“Fetch me my Jimmy Choo flip-flops  
Where is my pink Prada tote?  
I need my Tiffany hairband  
And then I can go for a float”

“Summer like never before  
I want more!”

“She wants fabulous, that is her simple request  
All things fabulous, bigger and better and best  
She needs something inspiring to help her get along  
She needs a little fabulous, is that so wrong?”

“Fabulous pool, fabulous splash  
Fabulous parties, even fabulous trash  
Fabulous fashion, fabulous bling  
She gotta have fabulous everything”

While she tried to sing all the parts he heard Merlin mutter from behind his camera ‘I self identify as fabulous trash’ and Arthur roared with laughed. That made Gwaine and Percy start to laugh which sent Merlin and Gwen off until Morgana was even giggling as she tried to get through the song. “Shut up and let me sing!”

“Nothing to discuss  
Everything's got the be perfect  
For me”

“She wants fabulous that is her simple request  
All things fabulous, bigger and better and best  
She needs something inspiring to help her get along  
She needs a little fabulous is that so wrong?”

“That won't do, that's a bore  
That's insulting, I need more  
I need, I need, I need, I need  
I need, I need, I need fabulous  
Fabulous hair fabulous style  
Fabulous eyes and that fabulous smile  
Oh, I like what I see, I like it a lot”

“Is this absolutely fabulous?  
Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous?”

“Absolutely… not!”

The song ended and everyone stood up cheering, Morgana went and dropped her makeshift microphone in Merlins lap. It was a hairbrush. “Don't think you know how to use one of those, love.” Arthur said with a chuckled. Merlin reached around till he found Arthur's face then grabbed his ear and pinched hard. “Ow! Rude!”  
“Keep whining, clotpole.” Merlin bit out. Morgana took the glass of water Percy offered and drank greedily.  
“As lovely as that was, I thank you, I still think my song choice is better.” She had that challenging smirk on her face and Merlin rose to the challenge like he always had and always will.  
“What have you got in store for me darling?” He asked as he stepped up in the coffee table and offered her a hand.  
“Merlin, my love.” Her voice was just loud enough to silence the rest of the room so they could hear the next song in the show. “You will be singing… Zero to Hero from Hercules.” A roar of cheers and laughter filled the large, empty house at the announcement. Even the cooks and cleaners had come to watch the show that was the Pendragons friend group. “It seemed appropriate considering you literally did a zero to hero.”  
“Bold of you to assume I’m not still a zero.” He said which received a chorus of ‘boos’. “Rude of you all. Gwen, you ready?” She gave a thumbs up and Merlin all but shoved Morgana off the table as the music started. 

“Bless my soul  
Herc was on a roll  
Person of the week in every Greek poll  
What a pro  
Herc could stop a show  
Point him at a monster and you're talking SRO  
He was no one  
A zero, zero  
Now he a honcho  
He's a hero  
Here was a kid with his act down pat  
From zero to hero in no time flat  
Zero to hero just like that”

Merlin was mesmerizing to watch, Arthur had never been to one of his concerts clearly but he had shockingly never seen him perform at all. He looked amazing even just standing on a coffee table in pajamas singing into a hairbrush. His glasses, his hair, the stupid, dirty socks he wore. Everything about him screamed Merlin, but there was something new. The way he moved, he knew how to command the audience. There was a confidence and swagger Arthur had never seen before.

“When he smiled  
The girls went wild with  
Oohs and aahs  
And they slapped his face  
On every vase  
(On every vase)”

“From appearance fees and royalties  
Our Herc had cash to burn  
Now the nouveau riche and famous  
He could tell you  
What Graecizans earn”

This new side of Merlin showed itself in the details. The way he threw his head back to expose his long, pale neck. Or how he moved his hips and the way he moved like a cat as he climbed off the table and made his way across the floor. Merlin was clumsy, he still was clumsy, but when he was dancing and singing it was ethereal. 

“Say Amen  
There he goes again  
Sweet and undefeated  
And an awesome 10 for 10  
Folks lined up  
Just to watch him flex  
And this perfect package  
Pair of pretty pecks”

Merlin sat himself down in Arthurs lap throwing his legs over the arm of the chair he had previously vacated. As he sang about Hercules’ muscles Merlin had patted Arthurs own chest, very aware they were being filmed by multiple cameras. Arthur blushed as Merlin rubbed his arms before rolling from the chair and landing on his feet before continuing on.

“Hercie, here he comes  
He sees, he conquers  
Honey, the crowds were  
Going bonkers  
He showed the moxie brains, and spunk  
From zero to hero a major hunk  
Zero to hero who’da thunk”

As he sang he dances around. He made Percival spin around and grabbed Leon's arm to pretend to have him flex. He did the silly voice and facial expressions and looked completely ridiculous. Nobody could take their eyes off him. 

“Who put the glad in gladiator?  
Hercules!  
Whose daring deeds are great theater?  
Hercules  
Is he bold?  
No one braver  
Is he sweet  
Our favorite flavor  
Hercules, Hercules,  
Hercules, Hercules,  
Hercules, Hercules”

Merlin took the time to stop and point to Arthur when he sang about being the people flavor, to which Arthur blushed bright red and he could hear Morgana and Mordred cackling. Morgana had been following him around the room trying to catch all of Merlins silly dance moves and facial expressions. He had a feeling it was less about the singing, more what they did while singing. He knew them both well enough to know that if you got them singing there was no telling what could happen. Freya did the same thing. The three of them could start by sitting on stools and end across the room missing clothes. Merlin got so caught up in the adrenaline he let the little bits on insanity shine through and Arthur had never loved a sight more.

“Bless my soul  
Herc was on a roll  
Undefeated  
Riding high  
And the nicest guy  
Not conceited”

“He was nothin’  
A zero, zero  
Now he's a honcho  
A hero”

Merlin climbed back up onto the table and sat down criss-cross applesauce like a child while he sang. His voice was amazing, Arthur was going to listen to his music the whole drive home. He had never really listened to it before, never had the interest, but now knowing he was dating the man behind the mask it was something he needed to hear. It was Merlin's diary, his emotions, and maybe Arthur was curious as to if some songs were about him.

“He hit the heights at breakneck speeds  
From zero to hero  
Herc is a hero  
Now he's a hero  
Yes, indeed!”

Merlin finished off the song with hair and glasses askew and breathing heavy with a maniac grin on his face. Arthur watched mesmerized as he left the hairbrush and made his way to the couch where he flopped against Freya who giggled as she whispered in his ear something he laughed it. They continued to whisper back and forth and shoot him pointed looks until he realized he was staring and blushed red again.  
“Got your videos then, kids?” Elyan asked and Morgana lobbed a pillow at him. “Gonna stop making stupid bets with each other?”  
“Can Gwaine keep his hands off Percival?” Gwaine flipped her off while everyone else burst into laughter at the pairs blushing faces.  
“Morgana.” Came Merlins raspy, tired voice. “I bet you, that you will sing high school musical on the drive home.”  
Everyone rolled their eyes at the pointlessness of it all. They weren't actually betting anything, they had been banned from betting money by Gwen and they were still too scared to break that rule even now. If they were allowed to, they would have gambled away houses and thousands of dollars since they both had the money.  
“I’m not taking that since you are going to play it and it's impossible not to sing along to.” Merlin stuck his tongue out at her.  
“You two have a gambling issue, I think we need to take you to a doctor that isn't Lance.” Mordred started from where he sat on Freya's other side as he poked Merlin's forehead.  
“They will give the same diagnosis I have, many times. They are both psychopaths with too much free time who are also adrenaline junkies and way too competitive for their own good.”  
“Sounds about right.” Merlin muttered while Morgana tried to protest. “Morgana you dared me to jump off the bridge into the Thames for no other reason than why not.”  
“You would have done it too if that man hasn't stopped us. Illegal bullshit.” She muttered.  
“Morgana you are a lawyer!” Will yelled and more laughter erupted around the room.  
“Oh shut up. We all know you are far from a saint, William. You just grew up in a small enough village that there was nobody to stop you, two delinquents.”  
“Rude! It's not like I have weed with me right now or anything.” Merlin smirked and ‘I'm lying’ was written all over his face.  
Gwen yelled. “Merlin!” The same time Will said. “Really?” With a way too eager look on his face. He got whacked in the head by Gwen and Merlin was only saved because he was across the room.  
“Hate to ruin this lovely moment but we might want to start packing now, guys. The roads are deemed safe enough for us to all drive back to London.” Leon said, which lowered the mood considerably.  
Arthur watched with sad eyes as Merlin heaved himself up and followed the crowd back towards the rooms. He didn't want them all to go, he was more than happy to stay snowed in for weeks if it meant being with all of them together again. Morgana lay a hand on his shoulder.  
“You don't want it to end, do you?” She asked sadly. She didn't want this to be over either.  
“What if… what if we can’t get together like this again? Then what? What if everyone gets too busy?”  
“Then we kidnap them.” She said with enough finality he wasn't sure whether she was kidding or not. Then, she turned and walked up the stairs to pack her own stuff. The goodbyes were always hard, but now he had to say goodbye to Merlin. He wasn't sure if he could do that. 

Merlin really, really didn't want to leave. If it were up to him they would all be moving into Pendragon manor and staying indefinitely. But as he looked at them all he knew he wouldn't lose them again, they hugged him too tightly, looked at him too long, said goodbyes that could be the end. No, he wasn't going anywhere and neither were they.  
Suddenly, everyone had gone. Only him, Morgana, and Arthur were left. Arthur would stay behind a couple hours to finish stuff up while he and Morgana would leave as soon as he got this goodbye out of the ruddy mouth. She was waiting in the car pointedly not looking at them.  
“I’m gonna see you again, yeah?” He wanted to roll his eyes but Arthur's voice was laced with genuine concern beneath the jokes.  
“Course, I gotta be stuck with you-you gotta be stuck with me.”  
“Oh, lucky me.”  
“You’re not just lucky, you're blessed. Be thankful.” He said with mock superiority. Arthur, however, just pulled him into a bear hug which Merlin quickly returned. They held on till they were on the verge of cracking ribs.  
“I’ll send you my address? Maybe you could pop by sometime if I feel it’s necessary.” he said without any of the biting wit that normally graced his speech. Then, he turned on his heel and climbed into the car beside Morgana with those as his parting words.  
“You gonna survive the drive home lover boy?”  
“Not with you driving.”

**Author's Note:**

> I really hoped you enjoyed this story and I do have plans to expand this universe if this goes over well. feel free to ask questions in the comments and i will try to answer them all.


End file.
